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Senate approves transfer and appropriation bills, creating revolving loans and funding campus and infrastructure projects
Summary
The Mississippi Senate in Jackson approved a package of transfer and appropriation measures that create new revolving loan programs and allocate hundreds of millions for local projects, university capital, infrastructure and a UMMC Cancer Center fund.
The Mississippi Senate on the floor in Jackson approved several transfer and appropriation bills that reallocate funds to capital projects, new loan programs and university facilities.
Senators adopted measures that create a Gulf Coast Restoration Revolving Loan Program and set aside millions across multiple funds, including a $233 million Local Improvements Project Fund, a $100 million Cancer Center Fund for the University of Mississippi Medical Center and $150 million for capacity projects listed with MDOT. Senators also approved $40 million for the IIJA match fund and a $43.5 million Mississippi Site Development Fund.
Senator Harkins, explaining one of the transfer bills, said the package breaks the funds into targeted accounts and allocates money to higher education, community colleges, state agencies and local projects. “There were over 640 requests by our chamber and I think total over 1.4 billion dollars for the requests,” Harkins said, noting the bill attempts to spread funds across the state.
Sponsor remarks and committee explanations said the Gulf Coast loan program created in the transfer legislation will offer low-interest loans (a maximum interest rate of 3.5 percent) administered by the Department of Finance and Administration and the South Mississippi Planning and Development District; applicants will submit applications and the legislature will authorize loans from the pool. Sponsors also said annual reports to the legislature will be required by Dec. 1 each year.
The bills list a number of targeted funds and amounts: a $233 million Local Improvements Project Fund; an IHL capital improvement allocation (amounts split by institution); a $32 million Mississippi State University Veterinarian School Fund; a $10 million Strategic Multimodal Investment Fund; $40 million for IIJA-matching projects for MDOT; $7.5 million for the Community Heritage Preservation Grant Fund; and a $30 million appropriation for the Vicksburg National Military Park Fund, among others.
Senators moved final passage on the morning roll call where no objections were recorded and the measures passed. Several floor amendments and technical edits were later handled on unanimous consent, and the bills will now proceed under the normal enrollment and transmission procedures.
